Iconography of Major Hindu Deities

By Dr. Nairanjana Srivastava | Banaras Hindu University

Learners enrolled: 309

ABOUT THE COURSE:
Indian culture generally and Hinduism, particularly, demonstrate its belief system through forms, figures and patterns visible in mediums such as stone, wood, terracotta etc. These are mainly intended for veneration or adornment of religious structures. These images, icons and symbols carry special meaning and are the codified forms of Hindu philosophy, developed through ages. An understanding of these religious icons can provide a way to understand the psycho-sociological background of ancient Indians and the genesis of Art forms evolved across the South Asian region. This four-week course is designed to give an acute knowledge of meaning, sources and importance of Indian iconography as seen in the forms of major Hindu deities, their symbolism and other technical aspects

INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG and PG students of subjects like AIHC & Archaeology, Fine Arts and Museology, History of Arts, Heritage Management, Travel & Tourism, Hindu Studies etc., competitive exam aspirants

PREREQUISITES: Students passed class 12 exams will have a better understanding of the subject

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Travel and Tourism Management, Heritage Management, Temple Tourism, Conservation- Preservation and Arts Appreciation Industry, etc.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	Hindi
Duration :	4 weeks
Category :	History
Credit Points :	1
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	18 Aug 2025
End Date :	12 Sep 2025
Enrollment Ends :	18 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	29 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	24 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 7.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction of Hindu Iconography

Week 2: Shaiv Iconography

Week 3: Vaishnav Iconography

Week 4: Iconography of Minor Hindu Deities

Books and references

1. Developments of Hindu Iconography, J.N. Banerjee

2. Iconography of Visnu, Kalpana S. Desai

3. Elements of Hindu Iconography, T.A. Gopinath Rao

4. Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, R.S. Gupte

5. Prachin Bhartiya Murti Vigyan, N.P.Joshi

6. Indian Sculpture, S. Kramerisch

7. Indian Sculpture, C. Shivramamuri

8. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Deities, Demi-Gods, Godlings, Demons and Heroes: With Special Focus on Iconographic Attributes (in 3 Vol Set), Frederick W.Bunce

9. Hindu Iconography, S.P.Tiwari

10. Encyclopaedia of Indian Iconography (Hinduism- Buddhism- Jainism) (In Three Volumes), S.K.Ramachandra Rao

11. Encyclopaedia of Indian Iconography (Hinduism- Buddhism- Jainism) (In Three Volumes), Raju Kalidas

Instructor bio

Dr. Nairanjana Srivastava

Banaras Hindu University

Dr. Nairanjana Srivastava works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology at Vasant Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Varanasi, affiliated to BHU. She did her PhD on the ‘Investigation of metalworking in the sculptural representation of Early Mediaeval India’ from Banaras Hindu University. She has one authored and two co-authored books to her credit apart from seven book chapters and about ten research papers in reputed research journals. She has also prepared Self Learning Material for MA course (MAAH- 101N) for UPRTOU, Prayagraj and curated the e-research magazine 'Thati', 5 editions of which have been brought out in collaboration with the students of the department. She has been conferred with awards like Yuva Kathakar Puraskar, Kadambini Sahitya Samman, Mahadevi Varma Vishesh Rachnatmak Award, Mohan Rakesh Samman etc. for her contribution to the field of Hindi literature.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: 24 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 3 assignments out of the total 4 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team

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